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From Pastor Perry

03/23/2015 Philippians 1:1-2

Philippians 1:1–2 (ESV)Greeting1 Paul
and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

From verse 1, we see that Paul and Timothy are together and he is writing the letter to the believers (saints) in Philippi. What is the background to
this letter?

IntroductionPhilippians overflows with joy and thanksgiving. Paul wrote to the church in
Philippi to thank them for a gift. He reported the joyful news that Epaphroditus, who had brought their gift to Paul, had recovered from his illness and was returning to Philippi. Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in any situation,
and he told them about his situation in prison. He expressed joy that more people were hearing about Christ even if some were proclaiming the gospel with bad motives. Wanting the Christians in Philippi to be unified, he challenged them to be servants just
as Jesus was when he “emptied himself” and became a man rather than clinging to the rights of his divine nature (2:1–11). Paul wrote this letter while in prison, probably in Rome about a.d. 60.

I
pray: O heavenly Father, help us to spread the Gospel, proclaiming it to all people. Help us to not be afraid of what might happen, but to be your servant. Amen.